Don't miss any of the news involving the Swans as we bring you everything from the newspapers around the country on Wednesday 27th April, 2016.
Tom's arrival unannounced
Ben Horne
Daily Telegraph, April 27
SYDNEY Swans young gun Tom Papley might have rivalled Leicester City as the sporting bet of the year, if only the bookies knew who he was.
All-time underdogs Leicester were 5000-1 to start the EPL season, with punters set to win hundreds of thousands of pounds as the fairytale nears its stunning conclusion.
But in a different hemisphere and in a different code, 19-year-old Papley was so far off the radar to begin this AFL campaign he didn’t even exist on the list of betting for the Rising Star award.
Just a few months ago the smart money was on his AFL dream to drift off into the distance and for the 177cm small forward to continue his plumbing apprenticeship instead.
However, out of nowhere Papley has come roaring into $17 with TAB to win the AFL’s prestigious Rising Star mantle — amongst a host of more fancied rookies — after earning the Round 5 nomination for his dazzling performance against West Coast.
This was a kid written off as being “too small” by recruiters and twice overlooked by every single club in the league after unsuccessfully nominating for the last two AFL drafts.
Bunyip brotherhood drives Swans gun Papley
David Sygall
SMH, April 27
Long before Swans coach John Longmire told Tom Papley, ‘‘You’re playing this week’’ ahead of the Swans’ round-one match against Collingwood, the plucky small forward’s destiny seemed written.
With a pair of grandfathers steeped in Swans history – the late Jeff Bray played 34 games for South Melbourne in the 1960s and Max Papley was the 1966 club champion – Bloods blood runs thickly through the clan’s generations.
However, it is through Tom’s father David and one of the players David coached at Bunyip in country Victoria that the seed for the 19-year-old’s fledgling career was truly planted.
Papley would run the water for the club’s firsts, seconds and thirds when his dad was coaching the top side, which featured a young Shane Mumford, the Swans’ premiership-winning ruckman who also played at Geelong and now at GWS. It explains why Papley, fiercely proud of the Bunyip brotherhood, chose the number 41 for his guernsey, the number Mumford has worn across his nine seasons so far.
‘‘I started playing when I was three or four, just at Auskick down at Bunyip and I always used to watch my dad play,’’ Papley says the day after being awarded a Rising Star nomination for his effort in the Swans’ 39-point win over the Eagles on Saturday.
A rising star: Papley’s ties in red and white forged in blood
Peter Lalor
The Australian, April 27
Gary Rohan is expected to return for his first game of 2016 this Sunday, which makes for one of those interesting “sliding door” moments.
The 188cm ball distributor comes off the long-term injury list at the very moment his replacement, the 177cm Tom Papley, asserts he is a long-term prospect by winning the Rising Star nomination for round five.
Fortunately for Papley, Rohan and the Swans, there appears to be enough wiggle room for both players.
Swans would like Rohan to be up and about as a possible replacement for Ted Richards who is out with a fractured cheek. It is a rotten blow for the defender who took a screamer, kicked a goal and picked up a perfect 10 votes for his efforts against Adelaide on the weekend.
